The way Danielle Del Sol sees it, preservation isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about being brave.
The new president and CEO of the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach came to the island fresh off seven years as the executive director of the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans, where she worked with the board to increase the endowment from $1 million to $6 million and earned a reputation as someone who doesn’t blink when a historic building is on the line. Now Del Sol is bringing that same instinct to a town ready to protect its architectural, botanical, and cultural heritage.
In a greater South Florida region known for its changing skyline and seemingly endless plans for development, Del Sol’s job is part evangelist and part enforcer, a leader who can visualize the future by holding dear to the past. Her philosophy is unambiguous: every building, garden, and beach matters—and losing even one can have irreversible consequences to the island.
Born in West Palm Beach, Del Sol’s return to the area is a fitting full-circle moment. The soft-spoken leader left as a child and has returned decades later as a mother of three with newfound perspective on Palm Beach. “As a child, I would visit family in Miami, and Palm Beach, in my mind, was a distillation of the best of Miami, this land with amazing beauty,” she says. “Now it’s that natural beauty and history that I want to protect for the next generation.”
In doing so, Del Sol and the foundation have asked residents to participate in the “Our Dear Palm Beach” campaign, which features a series of letters from residents about what makes the island special. The submissions include a letter about the Pan’s Garden tiled wall, a structure that contains pieces from a home designed by a resident’s great-grandfather. “In that space,” he writes, “past and present meet in a way that feels deeply personal. What was once part of my family’s story now serves as a living classroom.”
The campaign shows that “residents care about this place,” Del Sol says. “Palm Beach has unique personality and character that is irreplaceable, and so many people want to preserve that.”
Part of Del Sol’s role is overseeing the restoration of Phipps Ocean Park, an 18-acre oceanfront space undergoing a more than $30 million revitalization to restore natural ecosystems, update amenities, and re-site the historic 1886 Little Red Schoolhouse. It’s a project that’s special to Del Sol, who recognizes that the park, much like the rest of Palm Beach, is rare, fragile, and deserves to be preserved.
Facebook Comments